Who Cares if Workers Are Safe, as Long as They’re Forced to Pay Union Dues?

A recent National Public Radio investigative report concluded that West Virginia gubernatorial candidate and billionaire coal mine owner Jim Justice (left) has for years failed to pay millions of dollars in penalties for mine safety violations. But top mineworkers union boss Cecil Roberts (right) and his cohorts are foursquare behind Justice, because the latter has pledged to reinstate forced union dues and fees in the Mountain State. Image: Christian Tyler Randolph/Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail.

Earlier this month, the West Virginia gubernatorial campaign of billionaire coal mine owner Jim Justice ran into some trouble when a thoroughly-investigated National Public Radio (NPR) report concluded that mining companies owned by the Democratic nominee, who has been running ahead in the polls, “owe $15 million in six states, including property and minerals taxes, state coal severance and withholding taxes, and federal income, excise and unemployment taxes, as well as mine safety penalties, according to county, state and federal records.” (See the link below to read the entire report.)

Justice and his companies owe a total of $2.6 million in “delinquent federal mine safety penalties, which are levied by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.” Moreover, the mines owned by Justice that are in arrears on paying their mine safety penalties “continue to have worse-than-average safety records, according to NPR’s analysis of MSHA injury and violations data.” The NPR analysis shows that the overall rate of injuries resulting in lost work time was “twice the national average” and the overall violations rate was “more than four times the national rate during the years the Justice mines failed to pay penalties.”

The Justice campaign immediately denounced the NPR story, but so far has failed to challenge successfully any of its facts.

While report author Howard Berkes and the NPR team deserve commendation for their professionalism, they did leave out one important detail in their account. Namely, the fact that United Mine Workers of America international union President Cecil Roberts and the rest of the UMWA hierarchy have enthusiastically backed Justice’s campaign from the beginning. Even in the wake of the NPR report showing that Justice is “now the nation’s top mine safety delinquent” as well as delinquent on tax payments, UMWA and other union bigwigs continue to back him to the hilt.

Union kingpins love Jim Justice because he has pledged, if elected, to push for repeal of West Virginia’s Right to Work law, which was only enacted a few months ago. Meanwhile, Justice’s GOP opponent in the gubernatorial race, state Senate President Bill Cole, pushed hard for enactment of the ban on forced union dues and fees as a condition of employment, and is pledging to do everything he can to keep it on the books if elected.

Clearly, Roberts and the rest of the UMWA brass don’t consider the poor safety record of mines owned by Justice and his refusal to pay fines and penalties that he clearly can afford to pay as reasons not to elect him as governor. He is in favor of forcing miners and other West Virginia employees to pay union dues, or be fired. Apparently, that stance alone suffices to win Big Labor’s political support in the Mountain State!